Jan. jobless rates down in 28 states, up in 8; payroll jobs up in 30 states, down in 20

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Last edited Fri Mar 18, 2016, 01:55 PM - Edit history (2)

Jan. jobless rates down in 28 states, up in 8; payroll jobs up in 30 states, down in 20

Economic News Release USDL-16-0515

Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Monday, March 14, 2016

Technical information:
Employment: [phone] * [e-mail] * www.bls.gov/sae
Unemployment: [phone] * [e-mail] * www.bls.gov/lau

Media contact: [phone] * [e-mail]


REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- JANUARY 2016


Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in January. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases from December, 8 states had increases, and 14 states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, nine states had increases, and four states had no change. The national jobless rate, 4.9 percent, was little changed from December and was 0.8 percentage point lower than in January 2015.

In January 2016, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 30 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 20 states. The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in Florida (+32,200), Texas (+31,400), and North Carolina (+23,200). The largest over-the-month decrease in employment occurred in Pennsylvania (-16,100), followed by New Jersey (-14,100) and South Carolina (-10,100). The largest over-the-month percentage increases in employment occurred in the District of Columbia and Vermont (+0.9 percent each), followed by Nevada (+0.6 percent). The largest over-the-month percentage decline in employment occurred in South Carolina (-0.5 percent), followed by Arkansas (-0.4 percent) and Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia (-0.3 percent each). Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 44 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 6 states. The largest over-the-year percentage increase occurred in Idaho (+3.9 percent), followed by Oregon and Tennessee (+3.4 percent each). The largest over-the-year percentage decline in employment occurred in North Dakota (-4.5 percent), followed by Wyoming (-3.0 percent) and West Virginia (-1.6 percent).
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The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for January 2016 is scheduled to be released on Friday, March 18, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment news release for February 2016 is scheduled to be released on Friday, March 25, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).

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1. Wyoming suffers nation's largest unemployment rate jump

North Dakota's unemployment rate went up more than Wyoming's over the last year.

Wyoming suffers nation's largest unemployment rate jump

Hunter Woodall 307-266-0634, [e-mail] | Updated 11 hrs ago

Wyoming experienced the nation’s largest increase in unemployment rate over the past year, federal figures show. ... The Cowboy State’s unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent in January, up from 3.8 percent a year earlier, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wyoming’s unemployment rate hadn’t been that high since May 2013, when the U.S. economy was still recovering from the recession.

The figures demonstrate the effect of the downturn in coal, oil and natural gas — the resources that drive a big portion of the state’s economy.

Natrona County, which is home to many energy-related companies, had a 7.2 percent unemployment rate in January, the second-highest in the state after Fremont County, which stood at 8.1 percent. Natrona County also saw the largest year-to-year increase in unemployment, jumping nearly 3 percent from January 2015 to January 2016, according to a new study from the Research and Planning section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.

“The oil and gas industry — a lot of the companies are based in Casper,” said David Bullard, the study’s author and a senior economist with the Department of Workforce Services’ Office of Research and Planning. “Casper’s more dependent on oil and gas than the rest of the state, on average. We’ve been harder hit by the job losses here.”